ALVA, Okla. - Northwestern Oklahoma State Women's Basketball will take on Great American Conference foe Southeastern Oklahoma State (3-10, 1-6 GAC) at home this Saturday, Jan. 16 with tip-off set for 1:00 p.m.THE COACHES
Brett Vana
1st Season at Northwestern (1-11)
1st Season Overall (1-11)Darin Grover11th Season at SNU (156-124)
14th Season Overall (233-142)
THE SERIES
Southeastern leads the series 24-17 (NW leads 11-6 in Alva, SOSU leads 14-6 in Durant, SOSU leads 4-0 at Neutral sites).
Last SOSU Win: 12/13/2014 at SOSU (70-66 OT)
Last NW Win: 1/29/2015 at NW (69-67)
LAST MEETING: 1/29/2015 – SOSU 67 at NW 69Northwestern Oklahoma State's Relina Johnson delivered in the clutch again as the Rangers defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State in Percefull Fieldhouse Thursday night 69-67. Johnson's last second theatrics gave her the final glory, but her teammates Kalea King and Kamera Bozeman had incredible games as well collecting 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Johnson also pitched in 14 on the night, while pulling down seven boards. Both teams started off the game on the attack and traded hits over the first few minutes of play. Southeastern was the first to pull away, going on an 8-0 run starting at the 11:09 mark. The black-and-red quickly recovered from the eight-point deficit however as they went on a 19-3 run to end the first period and take an 8-point lead into the break. The Rangers had one of their better first halves of the year Thursday night, where they put up 37 on the visiting Savage Storm, allowing only 29. Northwestern was led by Kamera Bozeman who had a huge 12-point first half and was 5-of-7 doing so. Freshman Kalea King was no slouch either, putting eight points on the board, while nabbing four rebounds.
The two Rangers helped their team to a 48 percent shooting half, following a combined 9-for-13 half. Coming out of the break, the Savage Storm were on fire, starting on a 6-0 run. Northwestern's lack of offense in the early going led to the third tie of the ballgame at the 13:11 mark. With 11:17 to play, Northwestern was issued its first technical foul of the evening in which Savage Storm's top scorer, Emily Williams knocked down both free shots to cut the lead to one. The second tech came with three minutes left to play. The Rangers were able to maintain the advantage until the 5:50 mark where they went behind for just the third time all game.
The last five minutes of play were incredible and it came down to the final few hundredths of a second when Johnson would collect the pass from Jonae Isaac and sink the buzzer beating three pointer to end it.
LAST TIME OUT: 1/14/2016 – NW 71 at SNU 72Northwestern Oklahoma State fell to Great American Conference foe Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm Thursday evening by a final score of 72-71.
Individual Leaders
-Leading the effort offensively for the Rangers was Kamera Bozeman who finished with 23 total points on the night. Bozeman was also a force on the glass as she led Northwestern in rebounds as well with nine.
-Micaela Yu turned in a solid performance also as she tallied 16 points, three assists and added four rebounds to her stat line.
-Relina Johnson aided the Ranger effort with double digit scoring with 13 points, four assists, and a game high seven steals.
Game Changer
-The opening quarter brought a plethora of scoring from both sides as the Crimson Storm would hit a late three-pointer to give them the edge at the end of the first, 20-18. The second quarter included just as tight of a contest as the first saw, as the black-and-red controlled the momentum throughout the period leading to a 35-31 halftime score in the Rangers favor.
-Northwestern continued to ride their momentum into the third quarter as they went on to outscore their opponents 17-13 to give them the 52-44 lead heading towards the fourth. The final quarter came down to the wire as Southern Nazarene came out firing to claim the lead ultimately midway through the period. Unfortunately the Crimson Storm was able to net two late free throws to give them the 72-71 advantage. A late foul with just 0.5 seconds on the clock sent Johnson to the free throw line for two shots for the black-and-red and she was unable to come away with a make which saw the home team seal the victory.
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